Lead Horizon Europe MEP blasts ‘unreasonable’ co-negotiators

Negotiations on the EU’s next R&D programme Horizon Europe have gone “nowhere” because national representatives in the Council of the EU are playing “political games”, the European Parliament’s lead for the talks has said.

In a meeting with fellow members of the Parliament’s research committee on 23 January, MEP Dan Nica painted a bleak picture of political infighting with the Council that could prevent Horizon Europe from starting on time in 2021.

“We were very confident when we came to the first trilogue,” Nica said, referring to the three-way meetings between the Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, the first of which was held on 9 January. “But unfortunately the signals that we are receiving show that the Council does not show the same readiness to finish this project.”